1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to fabric wall coverings and, more particularly, pertains to a system or arrangement for the non-adherent mounting of a fabric wall covering sheet or panel on a wall surface structure. Moreover, the invention also concerns itself with a system or arrangement incorporating at least one track member which is fastenable to a wall, and wherein the track member includes fastening structure to which the fabric sheet or panel is adapted to be detachably adhered so as to render it possible to easily cover the surface of the wall with the fabric panel without any necessity for previously preparing the surface of the wall or for adhering the fabric material thereto.
The concept of utilizing decorative wallpapers as wall coverings, and, in numerous instances, expensive fabrics, has captured an extensive niche in the market of wall coverings, extending over the full spectrum of industrial, commercial and home applications. In our currently substantially affluent society, the decoration and covering of the walls in homes, apartments and offices with expensive fabric wall coverings has achieved widespread acceptance. In certain instances of application, the fabrics which are to be employed as the wall coverings, are cut into appropriately-sized and configured fabic panels and directly adhered to the surfaces of the walls, possibly through the intermediary of glues, adhesives or other similar types of adhesive media. This, necessarily, requires the surfaces of the walls to which the fabric panels are adhered to be prepared so as to eliminate any undue bulges and/or irregularities in the wall surface, inasmuch as the fabric would clearly evidence any irregularities in the wall surface therethrough subsequent to adhesion of the fabric to the wall surface. Moreover, in addition to the time-consuming and expensive tasks of having to prepare the wall surfaces; for instance, taping, spackling and possibly applying liners thereto, the permanent nature of adhering the fabric material thereto requires a high degree of skill in the application thereof. Also, when it is desired to remove or strip the fabric from the wall, this procedure essentially destroys the integrity of the fabric, and also requires refinishing of the wall surface for the subsequent applying of wall coverings.
In order to ameliorate or obviate the foregoing drawbacks, there have been developed other types of systems for covering wall surfaces with fabric panels, in which suitable frame structures are fastened to the wall at expedient locations, and with the wall covering fabric sheets or panels being tensioned and then adhered to such members or structures without adhering to the wall itself. This, in an advantageous manner, eliminates the necessity for treating or finishing the surface of the wall, inasmuch as the fabric sheet or panel is somewhat spaced therefrom, and enables wall covering fabrics to be mounted on unfinished walls, such as may be constituted from cinder blocks, untaped and unspackled sheetrock, plywood or the like. It is quite evident that there are considerable savings in costs in non-adhesively fastening the fabric to a wall through the utilization of a supportive track system, and that this renders such high-quality fabric wall coverings costwise highly competitive with the normally less expensive wallpapers or wall coverings constituted of flocked paper or paper-backed fabrics which are fastened directly to the wall surfaces.
Although presently employed arrangements or installations directed to the covering of substantially unfinished or semi-finished wall surfaces with relatively expensive fabric panels have come into widespread use, and to a considerable extent overcome the limitations of previous types of fabric wall coverings which are directly adhered to the walls, due to the installation of fabric coverings over either new or old walls without the need for adhesives and wall preparation, these systems are still not especially cost-effective in that they require the utilization of either expensive frame works and track structures and/or highly skilled operators for mounting the frame structures on the walls and properly orienting and attaching the fabric panels to the former.
Another difficulty which is encountered in the employment of such fabric panel wall covering arrangements resides in that the attachment of the fabric panels to the track members is generally of a substantially permanent nature, or in any event, not readily detachable therefrom, and any error in the aligning of the fabric upon being fastened to the track members will frequently result in patterns or decorations imprinted, woven or embossed in the fabric to the improperly oriented relative to the surfaces, walls or the room in which the fabrics are displayed. This, again, requires the cost-intensive employment of highly skilled operators in initially correctly mounting the fabric panels on the track members or frames so as to again generate an increase in installation costs.
Moreover, inasmuch as the presently utilized wall covering systems mounting fabric panels require a high degree of skill in installation, the average householder, who frequently, prefers to engage in his own cost-saving labors as a so-called "do-it-yourselfer", such as painting, plumbing, and wallpapering, including the "hanging" of fabric wall coverings, is frequently unable to carry out the desired installation due to a lack in the necessary basic skills and with the result that an improper installation may damage or even completely ruin expensive mounting track components and fabric panels, so as to thereby render the entire procedure uneconomical.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Baslow U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,260 discloses a fabric wall covering system for attaching border pieces or frame members to a wall, which frame members include channeled openings leading to storage arrangements adapted to receive the edges or selvage of a fabric sheet mounted on a framework formed by the border pieces, to facilitate the fabric sheet to cover a wall without being adhered thereto. The aspect in that the selvage of the fabric material is disposed within a channel portion of the border pieces enables a smooth appearance to be presented by the mounted fabric sheet without any necessity for finishing the wall surface. However, the mounting of the fabric material on the border pieces and the introduction of the selvage into the channeled structure requires the employment of highly skilled operators to properly carry out the fabric wall covering installation. In addition thereto, it is extremely difficult to again release the ends or selvage of the fabric material from engagement with the channel structure because of the gripping engagement therebetween, rendering removal of the mounted fabric material almost impossible such that, in the event of an improper installation, there may be encountered damage to or even a possible loss of expensive fabric material, not to mention labor losses.
Baslow U.S. Pat. No. 4,053,008 discloses a system similar to Baslow U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,260, in which the fabric material is clamped between cooperative constituents of a framework, and also renders difficult any removal of the mounted fabric material subsequent to its installation, thereby necessitating a high degree of precision by skilled operators during installation in order to avoid any possible misalignment of the wall covering fabric material.
Billarant U.S. Pat. No. 3,657,850, although disclosing a wall-supported framework wherein a flexible material, such as a sheet or panel of a wall covering fabric, has its ends or selvage tucked into a channel provided in the framework, and with surface portions of the exposed fabric material contacting the framework being detachably adhered thereto; for example, by means of hook-and-loop fasteners, such as known under the registered trademark "Velcro". However, the ends of the fabric material which is tucked into the framework channels is not adhered to the framework, and any pulling action exerted on the fabric frequently produces an inadvertent detachment thereof.
Baslow U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,490 discloses a fabric-supporting track structure or a molding piece which is adherable to a wall, and which incorporates a protruding channel member possessing a cove with an opening into which there may be inserted the margin or selvage of the fabric, with the cove of the channel being provided with a pressure-sensitive adhesive for adhering the fabric material thereto. Again, this type of mounting arrangement for fabric panels renders removal of the latter rather difficult in the event that the material is improperly installed, and necessitates the employment of highly skilled operators for attaching the wall covering fabric to the track or molding pieces.